‘I am not a soldier – but I’ll fight for my country if I have to’: Video game developer in Kyiv opens up on life in Ukraine amid conflict

metro.co.uk:

A video game developer in Ukraine describes how ordinary lives have been turned upside down by the war, while insisting that even without military experience he’ll do whatever it takes to help his country.

At a time when hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been displaced due to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s attack on their nation, indie developer Oleksandr Molodkin is safe at home in his flat in Kyiv. Although he and his partner – in both senses of the word – Tay Kuznetsova have to stay in the hallway for cover, taking turns to sleep so that someone is always awake and able to react to whatever new twist the Russian invasion of their country brings.

We spoke to Oleksandr (‘Alex’ is fine, he says before there’s a chance to stumble over his name) over Zoom, ostensibly to talk about Puzzles For Clef, the new game from his two-person development studio Weasel Token, who previously released mobile puzzle game Vitrail. As you might imagine though, he was far more preoccupied with the perils of his fellow citizens and extoling the virtues of Ukraine’s already legendary defenders.

Logging into Zoom on Thursday night, the image that was presented, on a surprisingly clear internet connection, is of Molodkin sitting in front of a non-descript wall, a stern countenance upon his thirtysomething face but otherwise looking like any ordinary game developer about to discuss their game. ‘We are fine here,’ he says in reply to the first and most obvious question.

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‘We have food and water, even some grocery stores are still open. We have to make sure one of us is awake at night but at the moment [around 10pm Kyiv time] it seems quiet. But you